1 stud, 1 dud from Cavs stumbling loss Friday to Heat

1 stud from Cavs loss to Heat: Evan Mobley

The reality for the Cavs is that no one player stood out for their positive play; everyone in the rotation had warts. Kevin Love hit a few timely shots but only got up five and was a -10 on the night. Dean Wade was again the quintessential glue guy, the only starter not to be outscored while on the court, but he scored just five points.

Evan Mobley has had to step up in the absence of Jarrett Allen and he has accordingly increased his production. He shot 7-of-12 on Friday night for 19 points, impressive efficiency against one of the league’s best defensive teams. He also pulled down 12 rebounds, had four assists and chipped in a steal and a block.

His activity was notable on both ends of the court. On offense he kept moving, slipping into the dunker spot or running up to set a screen for Darius Garland. Defensively he tried to be everywhere, taking on an All-Star-level center in Bam Adebayo in the post but also needing to be the clean-up guy against perimeter penetration.

Mobley was absolutely hosed by Adebayo, as he doesn’t have the strength to move him off of his spot. Adebayo scored a game-high 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting, shot eight free-throws and pulled down 17 rebounds. That wasn’t entirely Mobley’s fault; he was frequently caught between letting a perimeter player get right to the rim, or leaving Bam to stop the penetration and giving up a dunk or easy shot behind him. Lauri Markkanen, Darius Garland and Cedi Osman offered little resistance to the likes of Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro driving in from outside.

Mobley is a weak stud for this game, but he mixed in enough positives to help offset the butt-whupping he received from Adebayo. The role and production of the fifth-year big is exactly what Mobley should aspire to.